While the company is still largely beloved by the public, sentiment seems to have turned against them amongst their peers, and even amongst many of the startups around Silicon Valley. While these tensions have been building for months — and even years, in some cases — we’re seeing this on display more clearly than ever now thanks to the patent issue(s).
But why? Why is Google now a villain to many in the industry? I don’t believe it’s because they’re evil, I believe it simply relates to the Plainview quote. Increasingly, Google is trying to do everything. And they have the arrogance to think that they can. And it’s pissing people off.
Category: Microsoft
XP Slipping in Web Share
Another month rolls round, bringing with it another bunch of browser market share statistics. July was the first full month during which Firefox 5 was available, so it was the first indication of how well Mozilla’s new Rapid Release schedule would play in the market.
First the overall market share numbers. Internet Explorer is down 0.87 points to 52.81 percent. Firefox is down 0.19 points, to 21.48 percent. Chrome and Safari both made gains, of 0.34 and 0.57 points each, to 13.45 and 8.05 percent respectively. Finally, Opera fell slightly, by 0.08 points to 1.65 percent.
Thurrott Accuses NYT of Being Anti-Microsoft, Pro-Apple
I’ve subscribed to The New York Times for over a decade now and … I just give up. This paper is so pro-Apple and so anti-Microsoft that it’s hard to excuse anymore. It’s blatant, it’s constant, and it’s too much.
When my kids ask me what “the pot calling the kettle black” means, I’m going to send them to this post.
Window Phone 7 ‘Mango’ Gets Previewed
What Bill Gates Wants
Here is the world’s second richest man, in a fantastic interview with Mail Online:
Legacy is a stupid thing! I don’t want a legacy. If people look and see that childhood deaths dropped from nine million a year to four million because of our investment, then wow! I liken what I’m doing now to my old job. I worked with a lot of smart people; some things went well, some didn’t go so well. But when you see how what we did ended up empowering people, it’s a very cool thing.
Windows 8 Preview
I love the Metro UI on Windows Phone 7. It will be interesting to see how it scales to the desktop. If Microsoft pulls the trigger on this, it will be the biggest UI change Windows has seen in years. Part of me is sad that currently, the company is showing this off as an alternative interface, that works beside the standard UI.
Of course, this is part of a larger trend — OS X Lion pulls lots of UI elements from the iPad.
More of the Same
The Macalope, on new Windows 7 tablets:
The Macalope is constantly amazed by how many of these analysts whose opinions we’re supposed to take seriously have Websites that betray their ’90s thinking. Of course people will pick the Microsoft tablet! Compatibility! A proven market leader! That Chumbawamba song will never go out of style!
Will some IT shops buy these things? Sure. Probably. A lot of them still really hate their users. But a slightly faster crappy solution is still a crappy solution.
‘Letting Ballmer Blow Money on Hookers and Skype’
Microsoft should be searching for a new CEO right now. The Skype acquisition damage can still be mitigated if the proper people are put in place to immediately leverage the Skype brand.
[…]
If Microsoft wants a chance and long term survivorship they need to make themselves appealing to young stars. You can’t appeal to this young crop of talent unless you offer compelling products. More and more job selection for the elite talent is less about money and more about job satisfaction. Microsoft’s best bet here is to start acquiring fresh young companies and keeping the talent that comes with it.
Mac vs. PC People
Did you know that 67% of Mac users have a college degree, while only 54% of PC people do?
[via Shawn Blanc]
On Apple, Samsung and ‘Look and Feel’
Go read Nilay Patel’s coverage of the new Apple v. Samsung lawsuit. I’ll wait for you to come back.
Ok. Welcome back. Crazy stuff right? To me, its pretty clear that Samsung intentionally ripped off the look and feel of iOS and Apple’s hardware design when making its phones and Android UI, TouchWiz.
This is about Samsung’s design choices. And while Patel is careful not to draw parallels between this suit and the one Apple had against Microsoft in the mid–1990s.
How Microsoft Sees the Tablet
Microsoft’s global chief research and strategy officer Craig Mundie:
I think there’s an important distinction - and frankly one we didn’t jump on at Microsoft fast enough - between mobile and portable. Mobile is something that you want to use while you’re moving, and portable is something that you move and then use.
These are going to bump into one another a little bit and so today you can see tablets and pads and other things that are starting to live in the space in between. Personally I don’t know whether that space will be a persistent one or not.
Microsoft Urging Customers Away from IE 6
10 years ago a browser was born.
Its name was Internet Explorer 6. Now that we’re in 2011, in an era of modern web standards, it’s time to say goodbye.
This website is dedicated to watching Internet Explorer 6 usage drop to less than 1% worldwide, so more websites can choose to drop support for Internet Explorer 6, saving hours of work for web developers.
Currently, worldwide usage of IE 6 is at 12 percent, with 34.5 percent of China’s web traffic being generated with the browser.